I am back in the city, seeing it come to some new sort of “normal life” and going to take a travel food break to honor a favorite- Friend of a Farmer.
The farm to table movement saw an uptick in the NYC restaurant scene a couple of years ago and lucky for the PR and branding teams behind it, it seems it is here to stay. Farm to table refers to food served coming from a specific farm, bypassing a store or distributor, and therefore is fresher. Many perks have come from this social movement from the seasonality of the food to the support of local farmers and economies.
Perhaps one of the greatest perks in my eyes is the accessibility of the most delicious farm to fork brunch available at Friend of a Farmer. Family owned and operated (and even self-built floors, columns, and ceilings), this popular Gramercy spot serves some of the best homemade brunch and supper offerings in town. My last morning venture below.
Let’s start at the top- Farmer’s Market Omelet made with fresh spinach, sautéed mushrooms, and cheddar cheese. This is one of those menu offerings where you understand what farm to table means upon consumption. The veggies are just that fresh, the eggs are even that fresh, so much so that if you haven’t had eggs straight from the farm before, you wouldn’t understand what it means to say “fresh eggs”. They know how to make an omelet too, with the perfect mix, fill, and fold. The cheese melting all throughout, I mean bravo! Served with a side of home-style potatoes this is a hearty meal that you can feel slightly less guilty about.
Of course, stopping there and not indulging in a side of their fresh-baked bread would just not make sense, you do need a carb. This basket featured lemon bread, chocolate chip, zucchini, and the classic cornbread. Typically they come with homemade apple butter but being they were out, here you see their homemade berry jam. I’m a sucker for anything lemon and chocolate and cornbread wins my raised around good BBQ heart, but the zucchini was the real winner in my eyes here. (Shameless plug- combine the best of both worlds with Mina’s cocoa zucchini bread and fall in love with healthy zucchini alternative).
And just to be extra, because I know the fruits are coming from local farms, another side of the Fresh Fruit mix. Season fruit (apple, blueberries, banana, and strawberries) plus Friend of a Farmer made granola and a maple cream sauce for dipping. The cream sauce and homemade granola are what you get this dish for, to taste what the crew makes on from scratch and the cream sauce isn’t so bad on the breads either. With that said, if you don’t feel like needing to take a nap after your meal, this is the add-on you can skip.
Overall you can not go wrong with any of the offerings at Friend of a Farmer. Once we are able to travel again, should you find yourself in the city and looking for “where the locals” go, support the local farmers and enjoy here! I leave you with this dramatic close up:
